Bog Springs agreement still unsettled

An agreement between the Ruidoso Municipal School District and the village of Ruidoso, to proceed on the Bog Springs Drainage Restoration project, will wait another week.

The school board in recent months had questions about a memorandum of understanding that would allow the village to enhance the wetlands and perennial stream in front of Ruidoso High School.

Appearing before the school board Tuesday, Village Manager Debi Lee said she was told that morning that everyone was in agreement with a contract.

"I'm not real sure what you all are looking for," Lee said. "There was a MOU (memorandum of understanding) that was originally prepared and my understanding is that we wanted to protect the schools in regard to liability and ensure that you don't absorb any of the costs."

Lee explained that the project would be part of a settlement agreement coming out of an environmental lawsuit over river pollution from the regional wastewater treatment plant.

Instead of Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs paying a $1-million fine as part of a negotiated settlement that also required the construction of a new $32-million sewage treatment plant, Rio Ruidoso watershed enhancements worth $1 million also would be undertaken. The Rio Ruidoso Restoration Committee was established to recommend watershed projects including the Bog Springs Drainage Restoration initiative.

"This agreement is to hopefully identify the role of the village specific to this project and the funding, and to protect against liability," Lee said.

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Asked by school board member Greg Cory if the restoration committee has "blessed this as a viable project," Lee said they had.

Lee also provided assurance that the school district would not be on the hook for any of the cost.

"We have actually appropriated $255,000 that was required by June 30 in a line item so the money is there and available to do the project," Lee said. "We will also get credit for all the in-kind services."

The in-kind services would tally up the value of village workers, such as the street department crew, involved in the project.

Lee said the timeline for the project was critical.

"J.R. (Baumann), who is our streets superintendent, has got a window of June 15 until July 15 available before he kicks in gear with some projects that have to be done after July," Lee said. "So we're trying to get everybody lined out to do that work."

The project would create a couple of ponds, move a section of the flowing water on the high school property, create an entrance park to the school, reconfigure the pavement used by school buses, address runoff, and other enhancements.

Lee said still needed are the design of the project, flood zone permits and the agreement with the district.

Cory recommended the latest proposed agreement, in the hands of the school board just hours before their meeting, be considered by the school board on April 25.

"I agree with you," school board member Curt Temple told Cory. "I think that will give us more time because I met with J.R. also and he said, 'I'm supposed to build something but I don't have any plans.' He understands that he's waiting on plans from Paul (van Gulick, surveyor and engineer hired by Stream Dynamics) to know exactly what his time is going to have to be in on the project to get it completed."

Stream Dynamics is the wetlands restoration firm working on watershed improvements as part of the settlement of the lawsuit.

Lee said once the school district approves the agreement the document will go to the village council, likely at its first meeting of May.